Wave of Popular Feeling
by Groundswell
Summary: When feeling very low and sad, support can be found the strangest places and in the persons you never thought possible. And what worse is, you can end up actually liking that fact, no matter how much you hate it. Lily certainly experiences that.


_A/N: Hey! Welcome to my new one-shot, mixed with a song; a song-shot I've called it. The song is written and sung by Groundswell/Three Days Grace, the characters by JKR, and I of course own nothing but the plot. Please leave a comment for me when you've finished. Thanks!_

**Wave of Popular Feeling**

"Lily?"

I sighed. In the so far six and a half years I had spent at Hogwarts, I had never cared so little that the owner of that voice approached me, as I did now. Not even when the couch gave slightly away under its weight as he sat down next to me, did I react. I could feel his gaze on me, but didn't let him know, and kept starring into the dying fire.

"Is…" His voice was careful, soft and hesitating. "Is anything wrong?"

Did I want to answer him? With a sigh I quickly glanced at his figure. He sat next to me a little tense, yet with a relaxation _I_ couldn't muster at the time. I didn't dare look at his face, as I knew it'd only show true concern, which I couldn't handle at this time either. What could I even do now?

_From anger to pleasure  
From right to wrong  
And all of these feelings  
__Still becomes a song_

"Yeah." The word had slipped before I could stop it. Okay, so apparently I could confront him with my problems. Stupid idea.

He moved slightly. "Do you mind if I ask?"

Why did he have to be so bloody sweet? "Umm… Not really..." I hesitated a few seconds, but he didn't push me. "My parents… they… sort of… died."

Something inside of me told me not to pour out more of my heart into his hands, but it was a very weak voice, and was easily drowned by the need for comfort. But did I really need comfort that much? Not his at lea… Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I did. I'm like every other person who needs a shoulder to rely on in rough times.

_The sources of dooms  
Entirely collide  
We tell ourselves that  
We can't run and hide_

"I-" He somehow seemed lost for words or ways to express himself. Would a "sorry" be good enough for me? "I'm terribly sorry to hear."

A weak smile fought its way to my lips. "Thanks."

The next thing he did frightened me. Not because he did it, but because I didn't react normally to it. Lily-Evans-normally, of course. But the thing he did was to put an arm around my shoulder. I didn't even stiff, but instead, I leaned a bit into his shoulder and rested my head on it.

"You know," he muttered, "it's okay to cry."

_We never know we're enabled  
Please tell me something I don't know  
About t__his sort of gentle healing  
The wave of popular feeling  
You never felt so good  
__You never felt so good  
__You never felt so good_

I blinked. I had not cried. Not even when I got the news. It was as if McGonagall had told it all to an empty shell. Like the girl inside of me had no feelings whatsoever for her parents.

"I know," I croaked, and before I knew of it, a tear leaked from my eye.

"That's the spirit," he said cheerfully and dried it away.

A little laugh escaped my mouth. Slowly a tear from the other eye rolled down my cheek. He seemed hesitating again, but then dragged me into a full-body hug. I gave a weak sob and slowly hugged him back, laying my head on his shoulder.

_From anger to pleasure  
From right to wrong  
And all of these feelings  
Still becomes a song_

"See," he whispered. "You've caught it now."

"Yeah," I whispered back, smiling slightly again.

Two mixed and total opposite feelings rushed through me. One: a wave of happiness and comfort. I was actually slightly better already. Two: a wave of anger. Not anger towards him as it usually was, but towards myself. Here I was, actually feeling better and happy, in the arms of my sworn enemy for life just hours after I'd found out that my parents had been killed. It was so confusing.

_The sources of dooms  
Entirely collide  
We tell ourselves that  
We can't run and hide_

I had no idea how long we'd sat there when we both pulled apart slowly. I had stopped crying now, and noticed I had left a little stain of tears on his shirt where his shoulder was. He looked at me, but I couldn't bring myself to look back at him, as I knew the first wave of emotions would start to dominate my body even more, and I didn't need to feel guilty too.

He sighed lightly. "Feeling better?" he asked and slowly and carefully removed a lock of my hair from my face and put it behind my ear instead.

"Yeah, thanks," I said and pulled the hair on the other side behind my ear as well.

"Are- are you sure?" he asked with concern in his voice. "You still seem a little…"

I looked up. Big mistake. His gaze was simply breathtaking. Never, in the six and a half years I'd known him, had I seen them shine in this way of concern and care for others. The seconds passed in silence, and I suddenly wished I still had his arms wrapped around my body. Wow, this was simply stupid. How had he managed, in the little time we'd been sitting on that couch, to make me wish such thing?

_So take me down to water  
If I get too rough  
That's when we sit down  
We say "we've had enough"_

"I- I- I'm fine, James," I finally stuttered. Great, Lily, now he must think you're an idiot.

He smiled carefully. "Look, it's dinner time and maybe you'd like to… join me down there? I'm sure you could use something to eat right now."

I bit my lower lip. There was nothing wrong with that, was there? I mean, I had just spilled out my whole heart to him and cried on his shoulder.

Maybe this could turn out to be rather awkward. I didn't notice he'd gotten up before he offered me his hand. Without thinking, I grabbed it and he helped me up. As we walked towards the portrait hole I felt a huge stone fall from my heart. I felt lighter.

_There's something different here  
That we never knew  
This song, we're imageless  
Just like you_

The whole way down to the great hall was walked in silence. But it wasn't an awkward silence. More of a comforting and nice kind of silence. I stopped as we made the Great Hall. He looked questioningly at me, but I didn't meet his gaze. Instead, I had my eyes on Alyssa and Mary. He seemed to notice as he slowly took hold of my wrist and softly pulled me down the table, but past them.

"You need some other company right now," he said in my ear.

I didn't disagree, but followed him silently. His three friends sat down at the table, a long way from the girls. Without another word to me James sat down next to Peter. Sirius dropped his jaw when I sat down across from him and Remus.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Please close your mouth Black," I said coolly. "I can see your tonsils."

He slowly closed his mouth and looked at James. "What's she doing here, Prongs?"

James sent him a glare. "She's here because she wants to. Now shut up."

I snorted as Sirius looked scandalized. "Don't tell me to shut up," he said, pretending to be offended.

James licked his lips with a wry smile. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Oh, yes I can," Sirius said. He grabbed a piece of bread and threw it at James.

James grinned even more and threw some vegetables back. Some of them hit Remus. Remus looked up from his food to James, mischief in his eyes.

"Bad move, Prongs," he said, "bad move."

_We never know we're enabled  
Please tell me something I don't know  
About t__his sort of gentle healing  
The wave of popular feeling  
You never felt so good  
__You never felt so good  
__You never felt so good_

My eyes widened as I knew what was coming. In that second, both Remus and Sirius threw something back at James and someone next to Peter was hit too. He looked around and noticed what the Marauders were starting.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Sirius yelled and jumped up as soon as people from the surroundings began to throw food back.

I ducked as a potato came my way from the Hufflepuff table. What? I threw something back towards the tall blond boy that might have been the one throwing the food. Seconds later, when food was flying everywhere, I slid down on the floor, hands over my head. And then, without any forewarning at all, something or someone caught me around the waist.

"Cover! Cover!" James yelled.

I shrieked as he dragged me under the table along with him. I collapsed on my back covered by the table with James next to me. That's when I found myself laughing with him.

_You never felt so good  
__You never felt so good  
__You never felt good!_

Laughing hard and enjoying it.


End file.
